


at the end of the world

by lostnthedream (falloutangel)



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Apocalypse, Fluff and Angst, Kihyungwon Bingo, M/M, Zombie Apocalypse, a zombie apocalypse with like no zombies in it, changkyun I'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 14:45:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17469563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falloutangel/pseuds/lostnthedream
Summary: Hyungwon hasn’t seen Kihyun in three months. He doesn’t even know if he’s alive.





	at the end of the world

**Author's Note:**

> kihyungwon bingo prompt: apocalypse 
> 
> 2 of 4 done for the bingo! I'm halfway through so I hope that I can finish strong! Let me know what you guys think in the comments.
> 
> The title is taken from my chemical romance's song ghost of you.

A shove against his shoulder wakes Hyungwon in the morning, causing him to roll over groaning, pulling his blanket over his head. Waking up early sucks twice as much when it’s the apocalypse.

 

“You’re due on the wall in 20 minutes,” Hyunwoo says, pulling away the blanket. The cold air in the cabin assaults Hyungwon’s bare skin.

 

“You’re a monster,” Hyungwon whines, sitting up sluggishly, rubbing his arms. He looks out the window by his bed, seeing the faint light of the morning creeping over the camp. It’s barely even sunrise.

 

He goes easily into his morning routine, slowly rousing himself into full consciousness. He slips into a long sleeve still adding his leather jacket because of the chilly morning air.

 

Next to his bed on the table is a picture - a polaroid that he and Kihyun took the night before it all happened, which he had stuck carelessly into his coat pocket. Now it’s the only picture he still has of them.

 

He dreamed of him last night. It wasn’t comforting or warm, and it leaves Hyungwon uneasy as he glances at the picture, their faces pressed together looking at the camera, Kihyun’s lips curled in a pretty smile.

 

He gazes at it a moment more before grabbing his gun, tucking it into his holster on his belt.

 

Exiting his cabin, he makes his way to the front gates for his shift. As he predicted, the air bites at his skin, making him shiver.

 

Hoseok is there waiting for him. He gives Hyungwon a small smile, but tiredness seeps through and Hyungwon wonders if the other has slept through the night since he’s arrived.

 

Two weeks ago, Minhyuk’s supply run came across him stumbling along the road, numb and in shock. His sister had just been bitten. He had to end it.

 

They had brought him back, patched up the scratches on his arms, wrapped his sprained ankle, and told them about the camp. He stayed.

 

(In the end, Hoseok’s story isn’t special among anyone in the camp. They’ve all lost. They’ve all killed. They all have pasts. They all carry grief. Hyungwon’s thankful that they can at least carry it together.)

 

“Ready for your first shift on guard duty?” Hyungwon asks, leading him over the the ladder to get to the watch.

 

“As I’ll ever be,” Hoseok replies.

 

“It’s mostly pretty boring. Not a lot of action going on around here, thank heavens. Occasionally some walkers will come out of the woods to the east. We’re mainly here for if we have someone trying to get in through the front gate,” Hyungwon explains, starting to climb up the ladder. Hoseok follows up behind him.

 

The settlement is surrounded by a fifteen foot wall, only one gate. One that is to be guarded at all times.

 

“Here to relieve me?” Yoongi asks as they step up to the long raised platform.

 

“Yep,” Hyungwon says. “Hoseok’s first shift.”

 

Yoongi passes off the binoculars, taking his leave, clearly ready to catch up on some sleep.

 

Like all the newbies on their first shift, Hoseok takes it very seriously, standing tall and alert, eyes scanning the field and road before them. Hyungwon lets himself pull back into memories, traces of his dream still floating around his head.

 

Kihyun looked scared. Like how he had sounded the last time Hyungwon had heard from him.

 

Hyungwon got to hold him. Like he’d wanted to when they made their last phone call. Before Kihyun’s phone stopped dialing.

 

_(“The number you are trying to reach is no longer available.”)_

 

Hyungwon was shoved awake as he finally got to look into Kihyun’s dark brown eyes. He feels slightly more numb inside than the daily, but he always feels worse when he dreams of Kihyun.

 

Hyungwon hasn’t seen or heard from Kihyun in three months. He doesn’t even know if he’s alive.

 

_“Won-ah, I’m scared,” Kihyun said. Hyungwon had no doubt he was clutching the phone tightly in his hand. “People are saying that all the roads back to Seoul are blocked off, I don’t-”_

 

_“Don’t come back. Ki, please don’t try to come to Seoul to find me. It’s completely infested.” Hyungwon whispered, “Just find a way to stay safe. That’s how we find each other again. By staying safe.”_

 

_Kihyun was silent and Hyungwon knew that he wanted to not listen to him with every fiber of his being. “Please, listen to me.”_

 

_“Okay.”_

 

“Hey, Hyungwon?”

 

Hyungwon snaps out his thoughts when Hoseok brushes against him, hand reaching up to rest on the gun at his hip.

 

“Over there,” Hoseok points out to the distance, squinting his eyes. “Do you see something?”

 

Hyungwon stands a little straighter, pulling up the binoculars and scanning the area that Hoseok pointed to. He spots two figures in the distance, barely visible in the long grass by the dark woods, but it’s definitely something.

 

“I see it, but I need them to come closer,” Hyungwon says and he can hear Hoseok fidgeting next to him. He assumes that it’s two walkers based on the stagger and slumped walking, but as they come closer Hyungwon can see that the figure on the right is supporting the one on the left, bearing the weight causing the uneven walking.

 

“Survivors?”  

 

He passes the binoculars to Hoseok who takes a look himself.

 

“Looks like it.” His hand falls from his holster as he realizes that it’s not walkers. Ever slowly the two figures in the distance near the wall.

 

“They definitely seem to be headed here, not just passing,” Hoseok reports. Hyungwon tenses as he watches, because you never know who’s going to come to the gates, the kind of people you’ll encounter.

 

Luckily these two look like they pose little threat,o either injured or maybe worse.

 

“I’m going to get Hyunwoo,” Hyungwon tells Hoseok as they continue to approach. He steps onto the ladder. “Don’t open the gates until we get back. Keep watching them.”

 

Hoseok nods, turning back to watch and Hyungwon climbs down, jumping the last few feet and jogging to their leader’s cabin.

 

It’s rare to get passing survivors. Their camp is relatively in the middle of nowhere, an isolated community that was abandoned before completion, marked by the several unfinished houses that mark the borders.

 

But the wall was finished. That’s what keeps them safe.

 

“Hyunwoo!” Hyungwon calls, pushing at his door.

 

Hyunwoo looks up, alarmed to see Hyungwon here instead of at the tower. “Hyungwon? What’s wrong?”

 

“There are two believed survivors approaching the gate,” Hyungwon explains, ushering for him to follow. Hyunwoo immediately follows, tension rising in his shoulders.

 

Hyungwon knows that taking in strangers has been a mixed bag, some people only out to take advantage of Hyunwoo’s kindness. Hyungwon hopes that these people will be different.

 

Hoseok climbs down to meet them when they approach the entrance. “They’re at the gate, one of them tried to say something to me, but I couldn’t make anything out. They’re clearly weak, the other possibly injured as well.”

 

Hyunwoo nods, motioning Hyungwon to stand back.

 

“Alright open it up, Hoseok.”

 

Hoseok walks up and pushes open the gate, muscles tensing under the force needed to move the metal door.

 

Then it’s his dream before his eyes. It knocks the breath out of his and makes every nerve in his body explode.

 

 _Kihyun_. Hyungwon limbs seem to move on his own, moving the fastest he ever has to the weak, collapsed man’s side.

 

It startles both groups, the other man moving his body in front of Kihyun protectively and Hyunwoo grabbing forcefully at Hyungwon’s arm and pulling him back.

 

“Hyungwon, _wait_.” Hyunwoo orders. “What if they’re infected?”

 

“We’re not,” the orange haired man stresses, struggling to support Kihyun’s weight. “We ran out of water two days ago. He’s exhausted, _please_ help us.”

 

“Let me go! It’s Kihyun, please, Hyunwoo,” he pleads. Hyungwon manages to pull himself free, slowly approaching the ragged pair.

 

“Kihyun? Baby? Ki, baby, it’s me.” Hyungwon’s heart is in his throat, pounding as Kihyun’s eyes focus on him.

 

“Won-ah?” he coughs, hand reaching out, finger barely grazing Hyungwon’s hand. “It’s _you_?”

 

“Hyungwon? You’re Hyungwon?”

 

Hyungwon looks at the man who hasn’t left Kihyun’s side, that carried him across the field even with his own strength barely keeping the two of them moving. He has a long face and thin, exhausted eyes. A familiar sight in the apocalypse. Hyungwon nods.

 

His name must mean something to him, because it’s enough for the other to look faint with relief, hope flickering in his thin eyes, letting Kihyun fall against Hyungwon instead, swaying like he’s about to collapse on his feet.

 

Hyungwon takes Kihyun’s weight, leading them both to the ground. Kihyun’s companion falls to his knees beside them.

 

“Am I dead?” Kihyun whispers, lifting his head. Dirty brown hair, cracked lips, red rimmed eyes. He’s the most beautiful sight Hyungwon’s ever seen.

 

“No, no, no.” Hyungwon rubs his cheek with his finger. “No one’s dead. Not yet.”

 

“You’ll help us?”

 

Hyungwon looks at Kihyun’s companion. Desperation clings to every fiber of his expression and Hyungwon’s chest cracks open even more.

 

“Yes, yes, yes,” Hyungwon says, but turns to look at their leader, who is watching the scene in shock. “We can help them. _Please_ , Hyunwoo, we need to.”

 

“O-of course,” Hyunwoo shakes away the shock, moving forward to help. “Hoseok, go tell medical to get supplies ready.”

 

Hoseok runs off ahead of them and Hyunwoo approaches the exhausted pair, reaching to take Kihyun from Hyungwon, who is clearly not in walking condition.

 

“I got him,” Hyungwon says, not prepared to let go of Kihyun for a second. Hyunwoo raises an eyebrow, but backs off, moving to support the orange haired man next to them.

 

Kihyun seems dazed and limp against Hyungwon, limbs barely functioning under command. Taking a deep breath, Hyungwon slips one arm under Kihyun’s legs

 

Hyungwon uses the strength that he didn’t know he had to lift the smaller up off the ground, feeling sharp bones digging into his arms and chest He grunts the strain, wondering if he could even do this if Kihyun wasn’t severely underweight.

 

Step by step, they make their trek to the medical cabin. Kihyun’s head falls against Hyungwon’s chest, arms barely holding onto Hyungwon’s leather jacket. The man Hyunwoo is supporting, keeps worriedly glancing over at Kihyun, who’s cradled in Hyungwon’s arms.

 

Hoseok is there to hold the door and Minhyuk greets them as they enter, ushering them to the cots on the side of the room.

 

Carefully, Hyungwon props Kihyun up on one of their sick beds, pushing away his grimy bangs from his face.

 

He grabs a water bottle and holds it to the other’s mouth, letting him take several sips. “Slowly, slowly,” he murmurs. He feels like his chest is constricting, unable to believe that Kihyun is in front of him. That Kihyun is here and that he’s alive. _He’s alive_.

 

“Is this real?” Kihyun murmurs, gazing at Hyungwon in awe and Hyungwon has to swallow the growing lump that’s been making its way up his throat.

 

“It’s real,” he says, leaning forward, grabbing his limp hand. “This is all real and I’m real. This place is real.”

 

“I-” Kihyun’s voice wavers and a hand goes to his mouth. “I thought that I’d never see you again.” He gently brushes a hand against Hyungwon’s face. It trembles and Hyungwon reaches and grasps it in his own, hoping to steady him.

 

A dry sob breaks from Kihyun’s chest, Hyungwon’s sure if he wasn’t so dehydrated that it would have been full of tears. “I-I never thought I would find you,” he cries, falling forward into Hyungwon’s shoulder, clinging to him with whatever strength he has left. Breaking, Hyungwon clings back, clenching his eyes closed and wrapping himself around the other’s shaking form.

 

Unlike Kihyun, Hyungwon has tears to spare and they fall. Emotions exploding in his chest as he holds the other against him, arms never wanting to let go.

 

But he does pull away, because Kihyun needs attention right now. Hyungwon’s been safely tucked away behind a wall while Kihyun’s been wandering, scared.

 

He hands him the water again, urging him to drink. “Are you hurt anywhere?” he asks, scanning down his body.

 

“Tired,” Kihyun says softly, swaying slightly before Hyungwon reaches out to steady him. He feels his forehead. _Fever_ , he thinks.

 

“Is he going to be okay?” a voice asks from the side.

 

He looks up. Kihyun’s companion is watching them, currently getting the large gash in his forearm bandaged by Minhyuk.

 

“I think so,” Hyungwon says, rubbing at Kihyun’s back and shoulders. “I think he just need lots of rest. Food. Water.”

 

“Both of you do. You’re both severely dehydrated.” Minhyuk says, wrapping the gauze tight around the wound, making the other wince. “And what’s your name?”

 

“Jooheon,” he replies, and Hyungwon stares at him, knowing that he’ll never be able to repay him enough for taking care of Kihyun, for not leaving him behind.

 

There are months of horrors he’s missed and he’ll never be able to take back that time.

 

Now it’s his turn, and he’s going to protect him now. Nothing is going to separate them again.

 

Jooheon eyes flicker to Hyungwon’s hands cradling Kihyun’s and back to meet his eyes. “We’re… safe?”

 

“You are,” Hyungwon says and Jooheon’s eyes glimmer, chaotic emotions crashing on his face. He bites his lip, overwhelmed. Nodding, he looks away and down at Minhyuk’s bandage.

 

Hyungwon turns his attention back to Kihyun. He wonders if looking at him will never not feel surreal.

 

“Won-ah?” Kihyun whispers, leaning closer and their he can feel his breath against his skin. He looks into his eyes and just like the first time they met Hyungwon can’t make himself pull away. Draw in by some force, Hyungwon presses his lips against Kihyun’s, it’s ashy and dry and so perfect that Hyungwon wants to cry.

 

He pulls away and opens his eyes and Kihyun’s _smiling_. It’s far cry from his blinding grins that are so crystal clear in Hyungwon’s memory, but it’s a smile and it makes Hyungwon’s insides dance at the sight.

 

“I’m going to take care of you now, okay?” Hyungwon says, pressing their foreheads together, feeling Kihyun against him. “We’re going to be okay, now.”

 

“Safe?” Kihyun breathes, closing his eyes, letting himself melt against him. Hyungwon’s hand tightens around Kihyun’s, swallowing thickly.

 

“Safe,” he whispers.

  


**Author's Note:**

> come be friends with me on twitter: @lostnthedream


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